A bright fireball was observed disintegrating over Central America at 04:30 UTC on December 28, 2016 (22:30 CST on December 27). The event was observed from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Witnesses from Guatemala said they saw up to seven flashes in the sky….
A newly discovered asteroid 2016 YJ will flyby Earth at 1.2 LD (460 800 km / 286 330 miles) from the surface on December 22, 2016. 2016 YJ is Apollo-class near-Earth asteroid, discovered on December 18, with an estimated size of 10 – 23 m (32.8 – 75.4 feet). It…
The University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission will utilize the data collected during its two-year long mission to the Bennu asteroid in an attempt to search for elusive Earth-Trojan asteroids. Trojan asteroids accompany the planets during their journey around the…
Scientists using data obtained by ESA's Swarm constellation of satellites have discovered a jet stream in the liquid iron part of Earth’s core 3 000 km (1 864 miles) beneath the surface. In addition, Swarm satellite data show that this jet stream is…
A bright Geminid fireball streaked through the sky over Colombia and Venezuela at 23:25 UTC (18:25 COT) on December 16, 2016, and was recorded by numerous witnesses. The phenomenon was seen in the municipalities of Bucaramanga, Girón and Zapatoca in the…
An impressive fireball streaked across the sky in southern Spain at 21:25 UTC on December 11, 2016. The event was captured by Calar Alto Observatory (SMART project). Following the preliminary analysis carried out by the SMART's principal investigator José…
Newly discovered asteroid 2016 XW20 will flyby Earth on December 13, 2016, passing just 1.8 LD (691 200 km / 429 491 miles) from the surface of our planet at a relative velocity of 8.42 km/s. The closest approach is expected at 00:18 UTC. This asteroid was…
A large meteor exploded over the Norwegian Sea at 04:15 UTC on December 6, 2016. The event lit up the sky over Norway and was followed by several sonic booms. The fireball started at 81.4 km (50.6 miles) and ended at 24.4 km (15.2 miles), according to the latest…
The Geminid meteor shower will reach its peak on December 13 and 14, 2016. Despite the bright supermoon falling on the same dates, the numerous and bright Geminids are still expected to provide the skywatchers with a spectacular show. The Geminid meteor shower is…
The third and final supermoon of the year is approaching. The full moon will shine on December 14, 2016, near the Taurus constellation, and remain visible throughout most of the night. The Moon will reach its full phase on December 14, at 00:07 UTC. At the time, it…
